Rusty Hopkinson
| Rusty Hopkinson | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Russell Keith Hopkinson |
| Born | Fremantle, Western Australia, Australia |
| Genres | Rock |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instruments | Drums, guitar, vocals |
| Years active | 1981–present |
| Labels | Reverberation |
| Associated acts |
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Russell Keith "Rusty" Hopkinson (born in Fremantle) is an Australian rock musician and record label owner. He joined alternative rockers, You Am I, in 1993 on drums, percussion and backing vocals. He had previously been a member of the Bamboos (1986–87) and Kryptonics (1987–88). He established a record label, Reverberation, in 2003 with his former Kryptonics band mate, Ian Underwood.
Early in 1981 in Perth, Hopkinson was the lead vocalist and guitarist for Circle A, which included Don Burr on lead guitar and the Tarrant brothers: Dan on bass guitar and John on drums. They disbanded before the end of the year while Hopkins and Burr (now on bass guitar) formed Zoo Rejects in the following year with Sean Pickergill on guitar and vocals, and Craig Weighell on drums. However Hopkinson soon left and joined Genocide, on drums, by mid-1982, with Costa on lead vocals, Matthew Snashall on bass guitar and Craig Tobin on lead guitar. Hopkinson later recalled growing up in Fremantle, "I was really into punk rock. Being into punk rock in those days meant things could be pretty scary. I went to the same school that Bon Scott had been to, and we had a lot of run-ins while I was growing up. But there were lots of interesting people around – Fremantle's a port town, so you tend to get an interesting mix."
In January 1983 Hopkinson, Snashall and Tobin were joined by Ken Knight on lead vocals to form Mob Vengeance. Tobin left in August and they continued with a new guitarist. Knight became a local promoter and later recalled, "[we] were one of the early Perth punk bands; there wasn't too many places we were actually able to play at the time. The West Australian public was a bit terrified of people with green and pink hair. We had a residency for a while with the Quick and the Dead, the big skinhead band at the time. We used to have to play in the daylight hours at the City Hotel."
In 1984 Hopkinson replaced founding drummer, Michael, in Melbourne-based hardcore punk outfit, Vicious Circle, alongside Alby Brovedani on bass guitar and guitar (ex-Politburo), Paul Lindsay on lead vocals and Les Rumincik on lead guitar (ex-Politburo). Their early recordings include two tracks, "Blood Race" and "Police Brutality", on various artists compilation album, Eat Your Head (1984). The debut album, The Price of Progress, followed in September 1985. Hopkinson left in April 1986 and was replaced by David Ross.
Late in 1986 Hopkinson replaced Shakir Pichler on drums in Perth-based swamp rockers, the Bamboos, which included Greg Hitchcock on guitar (ex-Go Starts, Grave Robbers). They issued a single, "With Which to Love Her", in October 1987 and they had already broken up. Hopkinson and Hitchcock joined local garage rockers, Kryptonics, in mid-1987 with Jeff Halley on bass guitar (ex-Sunstones), and Ian Underwood on guitar and vocals. The line-up released an extended play, 69 (May 1989), on Waterfront Records; however, by that time Hopkinson was replaced by Andrew Robinson on drums (ex-Ritual).
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